Assisting individuals with Alzheimer’s disease using mobile augmented reality with voice interaction: an acceptance experiment with individuals in the early stages

• Published in: Research on biomedical engineering 2019-12, Vol.35 (3-4), p.223-234
• Main Authors: Kanno, Keynes Masayoshi, Lamounier Jr, Edgard Afonso, Cardoso, Alexandre, Lopes, Ederaldo José, Fakhouri Filho, Saadallah Azor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomaterials; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Engineering; Original Article
• ISSN: 2446-4732; 2446-4740
• DOI: 10.1007/s42600-019-00025-y

Introduction This article presents an innovative system that provides assistance to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) through the use of a mobile augmented reality (MAR) interface. By using MAR with voice commands and virtual buttons adapted to enable a better human-computer interaction (HCI), this study proposes a system that assists in pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. The authors have conducted an experiment to evaluate the acceptance of this system in individuals with AD in the early stages. Methods Six individuals with AD participated in the experiment. Three sessions were held to assess acceptance of the system in assistance with pharmacological treatment. Three other sessions were conducted to evaluate non-pharmacological activity. We measured the time spent and the number of interventions required for the participant to complete the task. We performed an observational analysis of the experiment and applied a questionnaire at the end of the evaluation so that the caregiver could answer questions together with the research participant. Results All participants were able to execute the proposed activities. During the sessions, most participants showed improvements in their performance. The observational analysis and questionnaire results show a good acceptance of this system in terms of the volunteers. Conclusion This work proposed an alternative for assisting individuals with AD during their pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment, innovating by means of interacting with medications and photo albums. Through the use of voice commands and a custom MAR interface, a good acceptance of this system by individuals with AD in early stage has been identified.